The Love of Christ

The book of Revelation is about the person of Jesus Christ.

That cannot be missed. John brings our attention very quickly to the person of Christ. He tells us about who he is and what he has done, and those considerations promote worship and praise you see that pattern in verse five where John is speaking of Jesus Christ and he says and from Jesus Christ. He says three things about him, but who he is. He is the faithful witness. He is the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth and we considered that last Sunday night. But tonight our attention is on what follows John says to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and is made us kings and priests to his God and father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The logic here is in the consideration of the person of Christ and in the work of Christ we are provoked and we are moved toward worship.

There is this doxology that is recorded to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So tonight we want to take up the subject of the love of Christ and I find it significant that John tells us of who Christ is before he tells us what he has done or what he is doing with you to see that pattern who is who is a is the faithful witness these, the firstborn from the dead. He's the ruler of the kings of the earth. John tells us that first before he tells us anything about what Christ is doing and what Christ has done. Why is that well what he has intended and purpose to do is guaranteed to be a factual because of who he is, our confidence in what is revealed to us about the work of Christ is undergirded by the reality of who he is.

He is the faithful witness is the firstborn from the dead. He is the ruler over all the kings of the earth may give you an example of an illustration I could say is one of the pastors of this church that I intend to do you good. I intend to give myself for your improvement your betterment.

I'm going to pour out my life and demonstrate love toward you. That's wonderful, and good, but my ability to do that is determined and dictated by who I am. I'm a man. I have limitations. There are times that I am selfish and I'm more concerned about me that I would be about you and there's only so much of me to go around. I could say that to the whole church but my ability to do that for the whole church is terribly limited in one day. My pastorate will land one day I will die, and my ability to do that for you will cease, but not so about the person of Jesus Christ. His ability to love you and to care for you is tied to who he is and he's the faithful witness is the unchangeable God is love knows no his love knows no boundaries. Therefore, we can be encouraged. So I think it's very important that John would tell us first about who this one is who Jesus Christ is before he says anything about what he has done and is doing so tonight let's take up the subject of the love of Christ. John tells us about him to him who loved us. You wouldn't know it by simply reading the text, but some your translations may capture the nuance. The verb tense that this is a present participle that this is a just focused on what he did in the past. This is speaking of what he is presently doing. He is, he has loved us and he is presently loving us one translation. The new international version translate translates it to him who loves us, to him who loves us.

The second thing mentioned here. To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, although that is a truism that Christ has washed us in his blood. There's a textual variant here and there are some translations that instead of saying he washed us in his blood say that he freed us in his blood is freed us instead of washed us and I think I know at least the English standard version renders it with that textual variant and in this brief statement of what Jesus Christ has done and is doing John the beloved apostle under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit summarizes beautifully. I think the gospel forests. So let's consider together this great reality that Jesus Christ he loves us. He loves us and our four characteristics of the love of Christ for his people that I want to speak to you about four characteristics of the love of Christ for his people. Number one.

Love is the great cause of all that he has done for us. Love is the great cause. The great explanation we could say for all that he is done for us were speaking about the redemption of man.

There are many attributes put on display. We think of the cross and what God has done in Christ we see the wisdom of God and the justice of God and the holiness of God and the power of God, but first and foremost we see the love of God, the love of God, we might ask why did Jesus suffer and die on the cross and the answer simply is because he loved us, other other answers to that question, but for our purposes tonight.

I want to draw your attention to that with you. Ask why. Why did he love us and the only answer is because he chose to love us. That's the dilemma that Old Testament Israel struggled understand God, thought it necessary to communicate.

Similarly to them. Deuteronomy chapter 7 we have these words the Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all people, but because here's the explanation, but because the Lord loves you and because he would keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, the Lord is brought you out out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of bondage from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. The only reason to explain the love of God for sinners is that he simply loves them all that Jesus Christ has done for us because of his love for us. This is the highest and purest and the best explanation that we have God's redeeming purposes in Christ is rooted in his love.

Love is the great cause of all that he has done for us and with that understanding it should not surprise us to find Paul praying that we, along with all the saints might comprehend the with the length of the depth and the height of the love of Christ that I read to you from Ephesians chapter 1 earlier. So when we hold up the diamond of our redemption to admire it. It is, it is the facet of the love of Christ. That should capture our attention God.

So what love the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God demonstrated his love toward us, in that Christ died for his John expressed it in his first epistle in this the love of God was manifested toward us that God has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might we be through him might live in this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. So tonight as we think about this great reality of the love of Christ for his people. The first consideration is that love is the great cause of all that Christ has done for us. Secondly, he loves us eternally. The present tense of the verb expresses that he not only loved us, but he loves us and if we are in saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We have scriptural want to believe that he always has loved us and he always will love us. His love is an eternal love eternal Ephesians chapter 1 tells us that he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him and what in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will that saving love was set upon us, set upon his people before the foundation of the world was laid and having set his peculiar redeeming love upon his people before the foundation of the world, he loved them in life. Any love them in death and he will love them ever still so the love of Christ for his people is an eternal love, and folks is that not is that not a sure foundation a picture upon which to hang all of our hopes to cast all of our cares to rest our worries and our doubts and our fear.

Yes, it is a sure foundation, the eternal love of the ruler over all the kings of the earth is said is love on you are a child of his. When not only does Jesus Christ love us eternally.

He thirdly loves us unchangeable. He unchangeable he now I drew your attention to the connection between what he is doing and has done to who he is what he does is made effectual by who is the Bible says that he is the unchanging God, the same yesterday today and forever. He will not change. Therefore, if it is his determination to love his people is love towards them is an unchangeable love, peace, the faithful witness that cannot lie.

His character will not change his purposes will not change his love will not vacillate, alter or change in this is the idea that undergirds Paul's teaching in Romans chapter 8 as he spoke of the love of Christ. Listen to it, who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or per apparel or sword as it is written, for your sake we are killed all day long we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter prime persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now if you took the time to turn. Romans chapter 8 and follow me.

Or if you are a an acute student and careful observer. You may have noted that I skipped verse 37. As I began to read it verse 35 Nellis in the verse 37 yet in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us more than conquerors through him who loved us. Perhaps tonight you struggle to have faith to believe that you are more than a conqueror because of him who loved you this why God draws our attention to this there in Romans eight here in Revelation chapter 1 that our focus needs to be upon the eternal, unchangeable love of the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth will love is the great cause of all that he has done. He has loved us eternally. He has loved us unchangeable.

He forced an IT loves us unconditionally.

He loves us unconditionally. Did you notice in our text in Revelation 1 that loving us comes before freeing us. That means that his love was set upon us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, even when we were his enemies. God demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This means that his love for us does not depend upon our performance if we could not merit his love. When he died for us. Surely we cannot merit the continuation of his love is love is an unconditional love set upon those whom he has determined the safe those four aspects about the love of Christ for his people, but the text goes on.

It says to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood or I think a better rendering is he who freed us from our sins in his own blood. So let's seek to understand this work of Christ by observing four aspects here for aspects of what it means that Christ has freed us from our sins in his own blood. First of all, the fact that he has freed us from our sins is the greatest example of his love, just as we have noted that love is the great cause of all that is done for us.

Even so, this truth is the greatest example of his love.

God demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us so this first thing that the love of Christ is the great example to us. Secondly, he freed us. It says in his own blood he freed us and washed us freed us from our sins in his own blood. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin in the blood of Jesus Christ alone. That is the focus of the writer of Hebrews will take the time tonight to turn to Hebrews chapter 11, there's a wonderful passage there that speaks to the superiority of the blood of Christ over the blood of beasts.

The Old Testament sacrifices, third he freed us from our sins in his own blood from the guilt of our sin and its penalty as we think about the necessity of the sacrifice of the blood of Christ. Surely surely we understand how great the burden of our sin was think with me if it required the very blood of the son of God to redeem us to himself. What a dreadful condition. We were in the hymn writer of twos. The Christ is third stanza seeks to drive that point home. You who think of sin, but lightly, nor suppose the evil great here may view it its nature rightly here. It's guilt may estimate marks the sacrifice appointed see who bears the awful load to his the word the Lord's anointed son of man and son of God. You see, it's the cross. It is the demonstration of the love of God, where we see the dreadful reality of the guilt of man's sin. And if there was any other way for God to reconcile us to himself. Apart from the death of his own son. He would have done it, but our condition was such that it required the shedding of the blood, the son of God, that required the blood of the spotless Lamb of God, the guilt really the guilt guiltless one became the guilty he who knew no sin became sin for us. In 1/4 aspect, tears were thinking about what it means that he has freed us from our sins in his own blood is done that in order to make us his bondservant's Adu loss, one who serves out of love and devotion to his master.

See our sins bound us tightly and there was no means of escape.

In ourselves we were slaves to sin into Satan himself. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8 that the sun has set us free. By his own blood. And if the sun shall set you free. You shall be indeed free that the power of sin has been broken.

And though we were once slaves.

The old man has been defined with Christ, we are bound out to a new master for the purpose that sin should no longer have dominion over us. We are now slaves of righteousness where in time past, we were slaves of on righteousness. We are now enslaved to a new master. Christ is our new master.

I trusted that reality is manifesting itself in your life that is the only explanation for you to be pursuing holiness. It is the only explanation of why you are continuing in the way it is. The only reason that you continue to love Christ and desire to grow in your understanding of him why you're not drawn back into the world why you are not pursuing those old vices. Those old passions. Yes, the powerful, yes, they continue to pull on us but we have been set free sins power has been broken for that, we rejoice and we long for the day that we will finally and fully be delivered from the very presence of sin itself know the subject of the love of God, the love of Christ.

It's it's everywhere.

It's in our hymnody. We signed about it this morning repeatedly, the hymn chosen as his children.

The refrain I'm born again I'm God's own chosen child of mercy born again and then what follows what love and grace. What love and grace and what does that love motivate us to do notice that the hymn writer, what love and grace. Father keep me walking worthy to all, I look upon your face till I look upon your face.

Melanie played the prelude music this morning and incorporated Chris Anderson's hymn relentless love, relentless love embrace my soul when in ages past. Love undeserved unknown yet deep and vast God set his love on me on me in spite of me. Salvation's work is his from first to last, on bonded love, unfailing love, love raised upon a tree on ending love prevailing love my Savior's sovereign love for me and it goes on relentless love pursued my heart though I would hide relentless love preserves my life from unbelief. Relentless love transforms my soul and it's the lines, says Chris Anderson.

So tonight is the love of Christ captured your life hasn't changed you has it transformed you. I trust that it has that you know what I'm talking about here tonight's were thinking about the love of Christ and what he is done for his people. Therefore, this is what we need.

We need to continue to rest in Jesus.

This is the Sabbath day. This is the Sabbath rest and we are to rest in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what thou art see that of what thou art who he is comes before what he has done. I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart, thou hast bid me gaze upon the and thy beauty fills my soul. For by thy transforming power thou hast made me oh how great thy lovingkindness faster, broader than the sea. Oh, how marvelous thy goodness lavished all on me.

Yes, I rest in the beloved know what wealth of grace is nine no thy certainty of promise and have made it. Have you appropriated this for your own soul has God made this effectual to you is Christ real to you. Simply trusting the Lord Jesus, I behold the as thou art, and thy love so pure, so changeless status phis my heart satisfies its deepest longings meets supplies its every need compassed me round with blessings.

Thine is love in ever live thy face upon me as I work and wait for the resting knee, thy smile, Lord Jesus. Earth's dark shadows flee brightness of my father's glory sunshine of my father's face keep me trusting, resting, fill me with thy grace, I trusted that him in the words of that hymn reflect your heart and your desire that you would be prayerful about that you would be earnest about that you would be diligent about that you would be pursuing that for your life and those that are dear to you, shall we pray.

Father, we are moved his we think about the love of God in Christ for us, you would have set your affections upon us in eternity past a love so great that it would send your son to this sin cursed earth to redeem a people to live the life that they would not live and to die the death that they deserve to die.

Oh how the love of God is on display. We thank you father for such love that would stoop that low to rescue sinners like us fill our hearts with love for Christ.

Enslave us to him, put the light in our hearts that we are bond servants of Christ help us as we dispense the stewardship of our life to live for him who died thank you for this portion of your word that speaks to us of first two Christ is and what he has done for his people, and how it causes us to say, even as John said.

Now onto him who loved us and freed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests to God and father to him be